If that weren't enough, silk fabrics have been replaced by luxuriously textured, nubby blends such as cashmere and wool.

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What she showed was modern elegance by way of minimalist coats and dresses made from cashmere, wool or mixed with pony hair.

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The house has also expanded its made-to-measure custom business, offering a wide range of fine leather gloves and cashmere and wool socks (or "hose, " as it quaintly still calls them), silk ties, even boxer shorts.

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Pieces by Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy are standouts, his mix of gold pyramid studs on ivory cashmere and black wool graphic yet ineffably feminine not an easy achievement.

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Just as not all wool is cashmere, not all titanium is the best titanium.

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They supplement their own supply of finished wool with cashmere from China.

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Tautz and Hardy Amies among them are recruiting neoclassic and avant-garde designers alike, refining and retrofitting their silk, wool, cashmere and knit wares just enough to maintain their legendary pedigree while attracting a new and youngish clientele.

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And understand that even a single wearing (or probably a lot of try-ons with your new sweater) means your natural-fiber clothes (wool, silk, cotton, cashmere, fur including blends) are no longer sterile when it comes to insects.

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That means separating the unwanted coarse outer hair of the goats from the valuable ultrafine cashmere underfleece, which measures just 12 to 18 microns in width (one sheep wool fiber is more like 25 microns wide).

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